This invention relates to a side rail construction for a patient supporting surface and, more particularly, a side rail construction for use on a hospital bed.
Equipment for use in a patient care facility has been categorized in the past into constructions adapted for limited use. For example, hospital beds located within hospital rooms were ordinarily constructed so as to remain in the room and not be capable of easy transport to and from the room. As a result, it became necessary to transfer the patient from the hospital bed to a patient transport carrier for transporting the patient to a remote location for additional treatment, whereat the patient would likely need to be transferred to an additional supporting surface. It would be desirable to provide a patient supporting surface, namely, a hospital bed, that is usable both in the hospital room as well as usable for effecting transport of the patient from the room to a remote location for additional treatment, including surgery, while remaining supported on the patient supporting surface of, for example, the hospital bed.
In order to effect the safe transport of a patient on the patient supporting surface, it is necessary to provide a side rail mechanism on both lateral sides of the patient from exiting the patient supporting surface either voluntarily or involuntarily. Since the patient will be experiencing additional health care treatment while positioned on the patient supporting surface, it is required that the side rail be retractable and movable to a position free of interference with the health care personnel providing the additional treatment to the patient. Simply collapsing the side rail from its initial deployed position wherein the hand rail thereon is above a plane of the patient supporting surface to a position below the plane of the patient supporting surface is simply not enough. The side rail configuration will interfere with the close access required for the health care personnel to access the patient supported on the patient supporting surface.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a side rail construction for a patient supporting surface that is elevatable to a deployed position preventing voluntary or involuntary exit of the patient from the patient supporting surface while simultaneously being collapsible to a position providing free and unobstructed access to the patient supported on the patient supporting surface.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a side rail construction, as aforesaid, wherein the side rail itself is retractable to a position beneath the patient supporting surface enabling the health care attendant to move close to the lateral edge of the patient supporting surface for convenient access to the patient supported on the patient supporting surface.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a side rail construction, as aforesaid, wherein the operation of the side rail between its collapsed position and its fully upright deployed position can be accomplished by the health care attendant through the use of only one hand.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a side rail construction, as aforesaid, which is of a durable construction and required little or no maintenance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a side rail construction, as aforesaid, which is easy to clean.
The objects and purposes of the invention are met by providing a side rail for a patient supporting bed having a base and a patient support frame mounted on the base. The patient support frame has a patient supporting surface bounded by a head end, a foot end and lateral side edges. A plurality of bearing housings are provided each rotatably secured to the patient support frame for movement about parallel axes that extend horizontally and perpendicular to the lateral side edges. The bearing housings each have a post receiving support thereon whose central axis is movable with the bearing housing between first and second positions, the first position of each central axis being axially aligned with other of the central axes of other of the post receiving supports on other of the bearing housings oriented on a common side of the patient supporting surface. The second position of each central axis is displaced from the first position and is parallel to other of the central axes of other of the post receiving supports on other of the bearing housings oriented on the common side of the patient supporting surface. A plurality of posts are provided, one end of each of which is received and rotatably supported on a respective one of the post receiving supports. An opposite end of each post oriented on a common side of the patient supporting surface is pivotally connected to a common elongate rail member also oriented on the common side of the patient supporting surface. Each elongate rail member is oriented in a first position thereof above a plane of the patient supporting surface when the bearing housings are each in the aforesaid second positions thereof and oriented beneath the plane of the patient supporting surface and directly below the first positions thereof when the bearing housings are in the aforesaid first positions thereof. Each of the elongate rail members are movable to a third position in response to a rotation of respective posts on the post receiving supports of the bearing housings that are in the aforesaid first positions thereof. The third position of each of the elongate rails is oriented intermediate the second positions thereof and a vertically upright plane containing a central longitudinal axis of the patient supporting surface.